Indiana State University Newsroom

Minority Health Coalition workers named Student Assistant Team of the Year

May 13, 2013

The Minority Health Coalition of Vigo County credits three Indiana State University students with helping more Wabash Valley residents live healthier lives.

The work of Brittany Kelley, Angela M. "Mia" Lewis and Ashley Sanders earned the trio the 2013 Student Assistant Team of the Year Award from the university's Career Center.

In nominating the three seniors she described as the "Dynamic Threesome," coalition Executive Director Dinah Farrington said they "work seamlessly with one another.The amount of productive programming we were able to produce and present to the community is invaluable."

Health sciences majors Lewis, of Terre Haute; and Sanders, of Indianapolis, organized health fairs and recruited dozens of providers to offer health screenings, information and free flu shots. Kelley, a marketing major from Gary, cranked out promotions that attracted hundreds of people to the events and developed an integrated marketing campaign for the agency. She also produced marketing materials for the agency and worked with its board of directors on a development campaign.

In addition, Sanders served as the family program assistant for the coalition and worked directly with parents and children to provide health information while Lewis earned certification in health surveying and completed 100 surveys on kidney disease and hepatitis, completing the project weeks ahead of deadline.

"Trust is so important and these three women understand that and value the trust that we have built as a team," Farrington said. "They don't accept ‘no' and find a way to make a program work for the greater good. They also understand the concept of a team and encourage, tease and commiserate with each other and help each other in their projects. They are phenomenal!"

Kelley called it an honor to be recognized "for at least trying to do anything that beneficial" and said she appreciated the opportunity to take what she learned in the classroom and apply it in the real world.

Sanders said the experience has opened a lot of doors for her and her fellow students.

"It has definitely been a great experience. I've been able to network and build a lot of relationships," she said. "Through working here, I was able to obtain my internship this summer. From grant-writing to press releases, everything was awesome."

Kelley and Sanders both have ambitious career goals. Kelley wants to become CEO of a Fortune 500 company while Sanders dreams of becoming CEO of a hospital.Lewis, who graduated from Indiana State this month, wants to work for a not-for-profit agency and plans to attend graduate school to complete a Master of Public Administration degree.

She said her experience with the coalition "has been a great start. You can't just have college and some education. You also have to have experience, so I'll be able to say all the things I've done thus far at the Minority Health Coalition I'll be able to apply to work experience."